


When We Were Four

by InterNutter



Series: When We Were Us [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Balance Arc, Gen, baby twins, domestic violence implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 14:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12772779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterNutter/pseuds/InterNutter
Summary: Taako's earliest memories with his sister.





	When We Were Four

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: TAZ:BA is pretty and I like to play with it. Hope I don’t break it on/for those marvellous McElroys.

Most of their lives were stories. Like fairy tales only the people were there to see and hear them. Stories of how they had been born holding hands.

Lulu had only begun to cry when the midwife separated one tiny hand from the other. And Koko got so stuck from it that he was born technically the next day. She stopped crying when Koko was put next to her and they could hold hands again.

Stories of how they learned what mirrors were.

Mother had come to see what Koko was yelling about. Panicking about. He was standing on a dresser chair and turning rapidly between the mirror and his twin. Howling that ‘the other Lulu’ wouldn’t talk to him. And how ‘the other Lulu’ was being a big copycat and make it  _ stop _ , Mama! And Mother had had to scoop him up and soothe him and tell him that this was a reflection. It was him in the mirror and not Lulu at all.

How Lulu and Koko both had to see themselves in the mirror, and Mother too, to work it out. And how they still pointed to their own reflections and named their twin for  _ days _ .

Stories about what happened when they met Auntie Ques, and looked between her and Mother in utter confusion that now they had  _ two _ mothers. How they couldn’t make up their infant minds over who they wanted to get a hug from.

It all seemed impossible, now. Both of them could tell Mother from Aunty Ques at sight. They knew so much, now. And could do so much for themselves. And they didn’t need to cry in the night for Mother when there was yelling in the night.

Just like now.

Koko clung to Lulu and Lulu clung back. And they had one hand each over the other’s mouth. Looking into each other’s eyes and trying so very hard to be brave. Because Mother and Father were yelling. Again. Very,  _ very _ loud.

“I  _ work _ all day, godsdamnit!”

“You think I  _ don’t _ ? You think keeping them safe is  _ easy _ ?”

“There are  _ wars _ happening  _ right _ over the mountains from us! We need every second I’m out, and I need to have a hot damn meal when I get home and no fucking woe about those demons upstairs!”

“They’re. Our. Children! And it would be nice if I  _ knew _ when you were even going to  _ be _ home! These babies need a routine! They need their Papa!”

“I have no proof they’re even mine!”

“They look just like you!”

“THEY’RE FUCKING BLOND!”

Koko’s eyes stung. He started hiccoughing behind Lulu’s hand. Lulu shook a head. Made a no-no noise behind his hand. Neither of them liked it when Father screamed out things like that.

“Keep your voice down, they’re  _ meditating _ !”

“They are  _ demons _ and they are  _ not _ mine, and I refuse to bust a hump  _ any _ longer to feed those witch-eyed bastards unless  _ you _ give me everything I deserve.”

Mother went really quiet. “You deserve a magic missile up the ass. Get out of my house. I  _ never _ want to see you again!”

“You’ll starve without me! You need me!”

“GET! OUT!”

Lulu and Koko were making tiny no-no noises at each other. Now was not the time to cry out loud, but fat tears still spilled anyway. They didn’t know what their father meant by demons, or witch-eyed, or why their being blond was important… but it was all scary how Mother and Father were yelling. And they were big kids, now. And they had to be brave.

“You’ll  _ beg _ me to come back inside a week.”

Mother said, “Ten,” in her Mama-means-business way. She’d never done that to Father, before.

“Fuck you,” whispered Father.

“Nine.”

The big door slammed like thunder. Lulu and Koko flinched at the noise. Listened in teary-eyed silence to the sudden quiet of their home.

Then they heard their mother crying.

Lulu was up first, Koko following because his hand had automatically found Lulu’s. Everywhere they went. Everything they did. They were together. Koko especially never liked being separated from Lulu. They padded downstairs and found their mother alone in the living room.

“Oh, my darlings,” she cooed, opening her arms wide for both of them to snuggle up. “How much did you hear?”

“There was yelling,” said Lulu. They knew better than to say what the yelling was. It made their mother upset.

“The door was loud,” complained Koko.

Mother made them all some warm honey milk and added some spices. And tried to explain. “Papa… is being very silly. And very angry about some silly, silly things.”

Lulu and Koko took a sip each from the cup they were given, and then swapped cups. They shared everything equally. They knew what he was being silly about. Demons and witch eyes and hair colour. And they were silly. Neither of them could understand why those things were upsetting in the first place.

The twins waited.

“He thinks he deserves a big prize for doing… what he should be doing anyway. So.” Mother sighed. “Papa’s going away until he stops being silly. And… things are going to be a little rough for a little while. But the nice thing about rough times is… when times get better again.”

Lulu and Koko kept swapping their mugs and sipping until there was no more warm honey milk left and their eyes began to want to close.

Mother herded them upstairs and saw them into a proper meditation. Back to back. Holding hands like they always did.

They never saw their father again.


End file.
